


Monster High

by ArieQuinn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abandoned Keith, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Banter, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Comedy, Conflict, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), High School, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Human Lance (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Love/Hate, M/M, Misunderstanding, Monster High - Freeform, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), Vampire Keith (Voltron), Werewolf, monster au, monster high school, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-19 13:32:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14874686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArieQuinn/pseuds/ArieQuinn
Summary: Growing up listening to Monster Mash Lance never once dreamed monsters were real and to him they aren't. Even though he's found himself in a monster highschool due to a letter mix up. He wonders why everyone looks strange and why there are so many night classes. He believes he is in a top tier academy and his vampire roommate Keith is just trying to keep Lance alive even though natural selection is hitting the dense man hard. Keith is finding that as he hides Lance's identity from everyone in the school he is slowly falling for the goofy human.





	1. Chapter 1

“This must be the place. A bit….Creepy though.” Lance stated as the bus with a rather ghoulish looking driver drove off leaving him in front of what looked like a Castle. The pamphlets showed a rather different school, he didn’t remember there being bushes or trees in the pamphlet. He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into his backpack. His luggage at his feet and a grin on his lips he remembered when he got accepted into the school. It was supposedly not the best school around, perhaps it was all a lie so that only the ‘best’ would enroll?  
He made his way to the iron gates and was about to open them before they slowly creaked open revealing a man with what Lance would describe as a rather good mustache. But the markings under his eyes Lance took note of for only a moment. The man caught him off guard and he let out a shrill scream that caused the vultures to take flight from the dead trees around the gates and in turn Lance screamed even louder as the other man joined in. 

For a few moments they looked into each other’s eyes screaming before Lance slowly calmed down. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He didn’t see the man from the gate!! And the gate had holes!! After a moment the man said to Lance,”Ah! Sorry there!!! I was just greasing the old gates to keep them from being too squeaky and you gave me a bit of a fright!! Hello there!! You must be the new student! You must be the…..Um….So many new students I seem to forget…You’re not a banshee too short of hair and your scream wasn’t that impressive….Too short and not hairy enough to be a big foot…Too alive looking to be a Preta…Hmmm…”

It felt like a huge joke, Lance couldn’t hold back the laughter as he said to the man grabbing his stuff and walking past him towards the school,” Good one old man!! This place has a sense of humour…I am loving it already!”

Whatever the man was going to say was lost to the rather loud thunder that boomed. Lance did not question why there would be thunder when the sky was all clear and the sun was out. Nope, he just continued his confident stride towards the building. He had a paper with instructions on where to go and his dorm room. He found it cool that there was even a little keycard, he thought he was going to be going to some shabby run of the mill tech school that wouldn’t even know if the vending machine was out of order or not! This place was good at hiding how advanced it was!! 

He was amazed by the place, the lion statues that overlooked the grand staircase. The strange students who seemed to believe it was Halloween and he was impressed by how some of them knew magic tricks! Lance climbed the stairs the red, blue, yellow, green, and black tapestries amazed him. He wanted to find who designed the building and compliment them on their eye for detail. Ten flights in and Lance felt like he was about to fall over, his suitcase felt like it weighed a million pounds and his legs screamed for a short rest! He looked at his card again huffing as he squinted in the dark hallway,” Please, let me be close. These stairs are killing me…Three hundred and eighty four…”

Lance looked up to see that he was in front of the correct room. He felt relief wash over him as he whispered putting his card in the card slot,” Thank you lady luck.” 

He swiped the card watching the red light turn blue and he walked inside…Immediately tripping over a pair of shoes. The room was pitch black!! His luggage fell ontop of him as a grumpy voice sounded from across the room,” Who is it? I told you I am not going to P.E. today. The sun is out and so I am in. Leave me alone.” 

“Ummm….I didn’t know I was going to have a roommate.” Lance blurted out as he tried to stand only to trip over his backpack that fell beside him. He caught himself on the bunkbed touching something rather soft at the same time. Suddenly it was wrenched out of his grip as the bunk moved under his hand and he tried to keep himself from falling.  
A moment later Lance was blinded by the bright light of a lamp being turned on, he was surprised to see someone standing in front of him. Was there another person there besides the grumpy one? The man in front of him started to speak surprising Lance once more that this was the same man,” So you’re my new roommate. I thought they learned their lesson about sticking people with me. Especially clumsy ones. You can’t see in the dark and you’re a bit touchy feely. Just stay out of my way.” 

Grumpy pants. That is what he is going to call this…At that moment his eyes adjusted letting him look at the tall, pale, lavender eyed man in front of him. He expected him to have harsher features and not a mullet,” Stay out of your way? Who has the lights off at three in the afternoon?! You’re just asking for someone to break their neck mullet!!”  
“The name is Keith. Unlike you I cannot be exposed to light for very long. It hurts my eyes and gives me a headache.” Keith shot back, he was already finding the man to be annoying. It was not a good first impression for someone to just barge into the room and start spouting off with nonsense. He wanted him to just throw his bags down and leave him to sleep.

Lance though was not going to let it go that easily. He said to Keith noticing that the only bunk left was the bottom one, he threw his stuff on it turning to look at him again,” What are you a vampire or something? A little sun never killed anyone!!”

“ How perceptive of you. I am a vampire and vampires cannot go out in the sun so yes a little sunlight /will/ kill me. So if you don’t mind I am going back to bed.” Keith could not believe he was still up chatting with this unnecessarily aggressive stranger. Who just walks into a room and turns the light on without knocking or being considerate?!

“Sure, and I’m a Changó.” Lance shot back, at least the guy had a sense of humour and was joking around now. He thought that the guy was going to be a bigger pain than he already was.

“A what now? I don’t think I’ve heard of that.” Keith stated, his eyes wide and even held a hint of confusion in them. He was trying to figure out whether the man was being serious or just being snarky as well as trying to remember whether he’s heard of it before.

Lance sighed, to him he was amazed that Keith never heard of a Changó before but then again most people wouldn’t know unless they went to his home country.” A Changó . It’s a Cuban god of strength, thunder, and lightning. You know a pretty awesome being. I’m Lance the Changó .” 

The fake bravado that Lance gave off would’ve sold it to anyone else but he leaned on the lightswitch in his effort to look as impressive as possible and in turn the lights and ceiling fan turned on blowing his hair in his eyes. As he moved the hair out of his eyes Keith smelled it. It was something that most would overlook or even miss, so many monsters roaming about they would not have picked up on the fact that this rather dense man in front of him…Was a human.


	2. Natural Selection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a choice to make. Will he turn Lance in and expose him as a human on his unofficial first day? Will he have Lance for a snack? Or will he let this continue for his own amusement? So many decisions and choices. Which one will one very bored vampire choose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the amount of times this published!! I had no clue until I was told. The site was real buggy that night and I honestly didn't know it published the first time.   
> But I would say when it comes to this being based off of Rosario + Vampire just the idea of Lance being a human in a high school of monsters. Everything else such as Keith being a vampire just made sense to me and I did that. :)  
> This might be updated semi slow because I have work, college, and everything else under the sun to do.

Keith held mixed feelings about this new development. He continued to stare at the man as Lance tried to adjust his now messy hair and while attempting to keep himself from falling over his luggage again. His first thought was to just take the man as a snack and then reveal he was a human if the headmaster tried to get on his case…But as he watched him for a few moments longer, his mind working, deciding on what he should do with this guy. These thoughts went through his head; should he report him? Eat him? Leave him to his own devices? He was leaning more towards just reporting him and getting his room to himself again so there wouldn’t be some klutz knocking everything over and feeling up his thigh, but then a thought struck. This man could be a source of amusement for him, it seemed that this guy had no idea just where he was and what he was surrounded by. The lights were on but no one was home it seemed, anyone else would’ve immediately noticed something was off but this guy seemed to lack those observation skills. It’s been a long time since he found anything worthwhile to do and maybe allowing this guy to roam the school and observe Lance’s observations would be something to keep the boredom at bay at least for a little while. 

The decision was made. He was going to just see how things turned out with Lance here and maybe get a glimpse at how humans lived as well. He tried not to let a rare but evil smile cross his lips. He didn’t think Lance would immediately become suspicious if he was to act nice due to the obvious dense nature of the man but he would not chance it and lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime,” You just arrived? Did they send you a schedule in the mail or do you still need to go to the headmaster’s office?”

For a few minutes the only sound in the room was the ceiling fan whirling above them as the other man thought to himself. He was thinking about everything he got in the mail and started to name things off to himself,” School map, room access card, laundry schedule, pest control schedule, holiday schedule, events….I don’t remember discussing a schedule. I think I was supposed to get one when I got here.” 

Perfect. Just what he was hoping to hear. Keith stated as he walked over to the desk and grabbed a bundle of clothes,” Anyone will get lost here unless they’re familiar with the place. Wait while I get ready. I’ll take you to the headmaster.” 

“I can find it on my own. I don’t need a cranky walking mullet to show me the way.” Lance stated confident in his ability to navigate his new surroundings. He already disliked this man, they got off on the wrong foot and Lance was just going to continue on what Keith started. 

Keith rolled his eyes before going into the bathroom and changing into a pair of jeans, boots, a black undershirt, and a red jacket. He walked out of the bathroom to see that Lance was gone already leaving the door slightly open,” Come on Lance!! You could have shut the door all the way!” 

He muttered grabbing the handle and darting out of the room letting the door slam shut behind him. A pet peeve having the door slightly open instead of the person closing it all the way. He rushed through the dark stairwell slightly amazed at how fast Lance was. He jumped down some stairs until he managed to catch up to Lance who was standing in the middle of the entryway holding the map to a candle and trying to decipher what was on it. Lance immediately noticed Keith but only glanced at him for a second before stating,” I can find it on my own!”

This man…Keith sighed before crossing over to him. The room was dark of course the whole wing was dark. He grabbed the map and tilted it,” The headmaster’s office is in the center. There are six main halls here and then there are halls that are tied together. The first main hall is the hall of the black lion, then the hall of the red lion, the hall of the blue lion, the hall of the green lion, and then the hall of the yellow lion. The sixth hall is the headmaster’s hall. Castle of lions.”

“That sounds like… some Harry Potter stuff.” Lance stated as he looked to the parts of the map Keith named off. He didn’t hear about this when he was talking to the recruiter that day but he felt excitement. He was excited to begin classes, he was excited to be there. It was better than some boring technical college like he believed it was!! 

“Harry Potter?? Anyway, the black lion and red lion halls are merged, the red lion and blue lion halls are merged as well. Yellow and Greens do not merge, it’s based off of personality type or so I was told when I began. Yellow and Green never has mixed personalities so they have never made extra halls.”

“Personality types? This is making no sense at all. I thought it went by enrollment like a normal college.” Lance tried to make sense of what Keith was telling him.  
“I forgot what it is exactly but blue and red connect with black. They are natural leaders but have not discovered it OR they are not fit to be a leader. Something like that. Just stop asking so many questions, it’s not important anyway. Let’s just go to the headmaster’s office and get your schedule.” Keith stated as he took the map from Lance adjusting it one more time, so he could see where they were on it and it could help him in the future. 

Lance took in the sights as they walked, the shades were drawn tight not allowing any sun to come in and the lamps were lit to offer some light to anyone inside. He found it rather odd that a school would keep the halls so dark but when he noticed Keith getting too far ahead he rushed to catch up and was amazed when they reached the center of the school. 

Five gigantic lions were situated around the place, he could tell they were stone…Or maybe robotic lions but it did not make them any less extraordinary. No wonder the school had a dome in the middle. It housed these lions!! He said as he approached one,” You have got to be kidding me…Are these real?! This is so cool!!! Why are they here?!”

“I don’t know. I was probably told the story one time, but it was boring, and it didn’t help me pass any of my classes so I forgot it. If you’re that curious just ask the headmaster when we get there.” Keith looked at the lions for a moment. He didn’t see anything extraordinary about them. They were just robotic lions or even yet decorations. He never seen them taken out or used for anything. 

The door to the headmaster’s office towered over them, white doors with golden pull door handles with intricate designs on them. Lance grabbed hold of one and pulled with all his might, the door slowly opening to reveal a long path to a desk. The room was bright but yet the sun did not shine in it and once Keith entered with him the lights slowly dimmed. Lance thought it was strange as he walked to the huge desk and saw standing beside it a tall intimidating man. His hair was bone white, his eyes were distant and troubled, his face had some wrinkles showing his age. What got his attention though was the young woman near him, she was arguing with him,” Father!! You cannot let him back on these grounds!! Just think of the devastation he caused last time!! Think about all who look to you for guidance, fairness, and protection!! We cannot allow him to…”

“Allura, that’s enough!! Don’t you see we have guests?” The man spoke, his voice caused the whole room and what seemed like the birds outside to go silent. He looked almost tired Lance noticed as he looked at the beautiful white haired girl who was talking about who knows what. The tension in the room made Lance uncomfortable. He couldn’t bare it for another moment and so he did the only thing he knew how to do…

Lance hurried up between them and gave the beautiful woman a big smile showing off his teeth as they twinkled in the dim light,” Well, hello there. I don’t think we’ve ever met before. The name’s Lance and…”

“What is wrong with your face? I mean are teeth supposed to do that? What kind of monster are you?” Allura interrupted him seeing how his teeth shined in the dim light. She even had a slight look of disgust on her face as she tried to figure it out.

“Hey!! There’s nothing wrong with them!! I just so happen to brush three times a day!! I also use whitening strips afterwards…” Lance sulked as he whispered to himself,” It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with you little guys. You’re perfect.”

The man quirked an eyebrow upwards at the weird nature of the kid in front of him. He was trying to remember just how he was accepted if he was that strange but then remembered back to the fact he accepted much stranger creatures into the school. He walked over to his desk and sat down stating almost as if he was talking more towards Allura than the two men in front of him,” I believe it’s time to put this nonsense aside. Keith, Lance was it? What brings you here?”

“Sir, Lance here does not have his schedule. I decided to show him the way so he doesn’t get lost and find himself in less favorable places.” Keith acted innocent a ruse that Alfor quickly picked up on. He looked at the young man with suspicion before looking at the more innocent looking one. He was trying to put two and two together but it seemed like something was on his mind and so he let it pass. 

“I see. I have a meeting to go to so let’s make this quick.” He brought up a roaster showing the names of everyone attending the institute. Lance looked at it in amazement and was surprised at how strange some of the names sounded. He reached out to click on a name when the booming voice of Alfor stopped him,” Young man keep your hands to yourself.” 

“Yes, sir..” Lance said as he took his hand back. His curiosity was almost overwhelming but he didn’t want to get kicked out so soon!! “Sir…I was curious. What are the lions out there for?”

“The five lions of Voltron? It’s what this institute was built on. Long ago there was a war, the likes of which mankind could not even imagine. It seemed like the whole universe was going to fall but then the five lions appeared made by a comet that could pass through reality itself. It is said that once the world is in danger the lions will awaken and choose their paladins that will fight and put an end to the evil. So they rest here while the students study and focus on their strengths in the hopes of when that day comes one of them will be the chosen paladin.” He explained the story, Lance though did not seem convinced and was left with more questions. He fell silent processing the information wondering was it just something to explain the lions and not to be taken seriously? Like his old school had some weird story about a gopher eating a tree and causing the landscape to be unable to grow anything…Something like that. It was too weird even for him. His attention was brought back to the man when he found his name in the huge list.

“That’s…Something. We only have one Lance here. It seems that the secretary forgot to send the schedule off. It’s listed here as undelivered…Let’s take a look at your profile and see what else wasn’t sent out.” The headmaster’s finger hovered over the name as if he was going to click on it and reveal who the file belonged to. Keith was nervous as he watched but then the phone began ringing causing the man to push the print schedule option instead,” Perhaps another time. There is something I need to take care of.”   
Once the schedule was printed out he handed the paper to Lance and motioned for them to leave the room as he grabbed the phone. 

Outside of the room Lance watched as the girl quickly walked off her long white hair flowing behind her. Keith nudged him getting his attention,” I wouldn’t mess around with the headmasters daughter if I were you. She is one of the best fighters here and can probably take you out in under a second. Now what does your schedule say?”

This was the exciting part for Keith, he watched as Lance read over the paper and the man’s look of excitement turned to one of confusion. He looked up at Keith after a moment stating,” What is this? There’s no math…English…Geometry…I’ve never had a schedule like this…”

This was the moment Lance was to realize that he was not in a human college. This was going to be the moment that he realized something was up!! Keith couldn’t wait to see the look of confusion turn to fear. He didn’t want Lance to be afraid afraid he just wanted to see his full reaction instead the next words uttered by Lance made Keith wonder if this was natural selection at work.

“Shooting classes?! Hell yeah!!! This is so much better than I thought it would be!!” Lance shouted as he jumped with excitement. 

Yes. Natural selection had a strange way of working and it seemed to be working overtime right now.


	3. Secret Agent Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classes are starting, Lance is now finally meeting the other students. He's pumped and ready for anything thrown his way! While Keith is getting his first peek at how intelligent humans can be...and how hopeless at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to clear this up just in case. Lance figuring it out is not going to happen at the end of the story. It will be sooner just so no one gives up or thinks I'm making Lance into a huge idiot. It has a place in the story no worries. :)

Lance was looking over his schedule his eyes lit up wit awe and amazement. He was wondering what real life situation he would even need shooting lessons, tactical training, stealth classes for. Well, as long as it wasn’t anything as boring as math he was content. He was currently on the bottom bunk with his shoes pressing against the top, a flashlight in his mouth since Keith kept turning the lights off and got rather rude practically yelling that he needed to sleep. No matter. His classes didn’t start till tomorrow anyway! He had the whole night to look the schedule over and the excitement was just bubbling inside him. He found himself kicking the top bunk more with each moment. Until…

“Would you cut that out?! I’m trying to sleep up here and I can’t do that when your foot is pressing against my back!!” Keith looked over the edge of the bunk shouting down at Lance. His hair was messed up from the amount of tossing and turning he was doing as he tried to find a spot or even a position where he couldn’t feel Lance’s shoe pressing up against his back. 

“ Why don’t you find somewhere else to sleep? It’s two in the afternoon. Most people are up at this time. Soaking in the sunlight and chilling with the ladies. Stop being so dark and moody.” Lance stated the best he could with the flashlight in his mouth. He was excited to see that his first class was stealth training. He could not wait to get in the middle of it! He was going to do so awesome and he knew it. He was going to own that class and hopefully impress some of the ladies there as well.  
He took his feet off the top bunk once Keith started to elbow him through the bed stating to Lance in an irritated tone,” Because some of us sleep around this time. Just look at your schedule and let me rest..”  
“Fine. I didn- urkkk yackkk.” That last part was Lance opening his mouth a bit more than he should have and the flashlight he was talking around slipping and hitting the back of his throat forcing Lance to sit up. Keith let a smile cross his lips hearing Lance below him believing it served him right for kicking the bottom of his bed.  
“Everything okay down there? Sounds like you have quite a mouthful.” 

“Can it Keith!!” Lance stated placing the flashlight beside him on the bed, his hand going to his throat and lightly rubbing it. He laid back in his bed and looked up, normally he would see the ceiling to his room. Surrounded by his posters, small trinkets and gifts his parents would get him. He had a big family, there was never a quiet moment in his house. He would hear his mother cooking, the garlic knots she would make before dinner. 

Turning to face the wall Lance felt vulnerable. It has not even been a day but he was living here now. The room was silent, so silent. The smells were not his mother cooking but of the air freshner that would spritz a floral fragrance in the air. He did not recognize that smell but at the moment he did not care. He was already homesick,” Hey Keith.”  
“Yeah. What is it?” Keith’s sleepy voice drifted, the animosity of the situation was long gone replaced by just a tired teenager wanting to just get some rest.  
“How do you do it? How do you avoid getting homesick? It’s exciting to be here but how do you avoid thinking of home? Of your parents? Family? I’ve never been away from them for very long before.” He missed walking along the beach in the morning, watching the fishermen dock their boats witnessing their first steps on land after who knows how many days at sea. Flirting with the women he came across and avoiding the seagulls or better yet watching some unfortunate person have their food snatched by the angry birds. Just the memory of it made a smile creep onto his lips. 

“I wouldn’t know the feeling. I’ve kept to myself. You’ll get used to it like everyone else.” Keith came off as uncaring towards the insecure boy,” Now let me get some sleep.”  
Hours passed and Lance found himself dozing off in his new home. Until an alarm started to blare causing him to jolt up and hit his head on the bottom bunk. He let out a pained shout as his eyes opened to look around his surroundings. He remembered now he was in his new school and…It was five in the morning?! How did he sleep that long?!  
“Rise and shine sleeping beauty. We’re going to be late.” Keith was already set to go. He watched as Lance rolled out of bed, Lance would normally have been up and at it as well but he slipped off to sleep so suddenly. 

“Where are we going?” Lance yawned out as he rummaged through his luggage to find something decent to wear. He occasionally tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.  
“It’s time for class. This is a hybrid class. It takes place inbetween night and sunrise. So everyone can attend it. Stealth training.” Keith explained to the sleepy man as he put on a helmet a look of smug satisfaction on his face.  
A few minutes later Lance found himself in a huge gym or what looked like a gym. He stood in his street clothes while everyone else was wearing armor that represented their respective houses. He was clueless as he looked around the room. He saw a short boy who looked more like a wolf. His fangs protruded from his top lip, he kept adjusting his helmet mumbling about how uncomfortable it was. His gaze then went to two others who seemed to stand out. A tall guy with a scar across his face, he seemed completely normal in all actuality. Besides Keith that is, he looked to a tanned guy who was obviously bigger than the others. He had a gentle look in his eye despite his intimidating appearance. Everyone looked strange, was this a dress up school as well? Cosplay? 

“ That’s Shiro. He’s a Kyonshi. Then there’s Pidge she’s a werewolf…”

“Wait…You’re pointing to the boy…Waaiiit. He’s a girl?!!!” Lance could have sworn the one called Pidge was a guy!! He was shocked at this development but wondered how far this game was going to be taken. He was starting to believe this was not a normal school. Not in the sense of monsters but that everyone was a bit crazy. He was going to see how far Keith was going to take this charade. 

“Yes, and as I was saying then there’s Hunk. Don’t let his size intimidate you. He’s probably one of the nicest ones here. He’s a son of Vavau who was regarded as the god of peace. His father was sent to earth and not allowed to return until he brought world peace. As you can see that hasn’t happened yet.” Keith looked to Lance, he was not going to hide what the place was but he was going to see if Lance so happened to catch on. But it seemed like the man was lost in thought processing everything that he told him. 

“ Okaay. So everyone likes to dress up and play make believe here. That isn’t weird at all.” Lance told Keith. Before he could get further into it their teacher or who he assumed was their teacher appeared. 

It was…The first person that Lance had met…Coran?! The man stood in what seemed like either a really fancy fighter uniform or a mandated suit. He stood tall and he assumed tried to look imposing before the man spoke to them,” Good morning class!! It’s time to go at it again!! We have our new student Lance and everyone is attending for once. Talking to you Keith. Now as a refresher for our new teammate if you’re assigned to a secret mission the first thing you don’t want is to be spotted. So reading off these here flash cards I’ll give a scenario. If you’re stuck on a ship with ten sentries down one hall and five mortal guards down another. What hall should you go down? Well, for starters you don’t want to be ratted out immediately. That would put quite a damper on your day and almost guarantee a shortened lifespan! So you should go down the sentry pa-…”  
“You should go down the one with the guards actually.” Lance interrupted. He believed perhaps the teacher got the wrong flashcard. It did not sound right and he did not shrink back when everyone turned to look at him, instead he appeared to like to be the center of attention like that.

“Well, the flashcards are never wrong. But I would like to hear your ‘sound’ logic. These flashcards have been in the school longer than you’ve been alive boy.” Coran’s words were not condescending leaning more towards defensive when it came to his flashcards. 

The room was silent as Lance spoke up, his voice traveling as he brought attention to himself,” Times have changed. With technology advancing I will be willing to bet that the sentries can send information including what they see and hear in live time to the control. They don’t have the need or use for intercoms or any other method of communicating with their superiors because they see what they’re seeing. Hear what they’re hearing. They may be weaker than the guards but their numbers could also present a problem. With the guards you have a chance at taking them by surprise and taking them out before they can send a call in to buy more time OR you can sneak past them easier. Sentries are robots, they are built to be superior. So one wrong movement and they won’t just walk the other way when nothing comes of it like a guard they will investigate and discover you. Guards get tired or they even fall asleep, all of those would have more of a tactical advantage compared to the sentries.” 

Not a single person spoke when presented with that logic. Everyone was wondering just who this guy was, Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro were looking to Lance as well. Their interests caught while Keith stared in shock given that he’s spent the past twelve hours or so with Lance and he never once shown how perceptive or intelligent he was; Keith just assumed that Lance was a world class idiot. 

Now not so much. He did not catch onto that problem. He knew if he had been in that position he would’ve attacked the first thing he saw. 

“Young man….That’s pretty perceptive of you. I was seeing if anyone would catch on. Lance, I’m going to have high hopes for you in this class.” Coran informed Lance putting the cards back into his pocket before saying,” Now before we begin the physical part we need to get you a suit.”

This was beyond exciting. Being homesick was out of his mind now as he received a white suit with blue lining. It was light on his body but felt heavy at the same time. He could move freely but it felt like he could be hit by a bus and get up unharmed!! 

He was standing with the others as Coran set up their obstacle course,” Now try not to touch anything and make it across!!”

Though, what was set up made everyone recoil in terror or some look at it in excitement. Lance though shouted,” What is this?! Who thought of this?!”  
The ground was littered with electric wiring that crisscrossed making passing it seem near impossible. He could see the sparks flying off of the wires when they touched each other. This is how he would die he believed.


	4. Buddy System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Onto the physical stealth training! Even though it's a life or death training sequence Lance is still making new friends and proving to those around him that he is not an idiot. He feels at home and where he's meant to be.

Coran was soaking up the horrified reactions of some of the students. He adjusted his coat in triumph saying in a smug tone,” Now, I will split you into groups of two!! One will be blindfolded and another will tell you where to go!! Some missions only your partner at central command will see more than you will even if it’s right in front of your nose!!” 

He inspected the area seeing who should be paired with whom. He pointed to Keith and Shiro,” You two team up. Pidge and Allura you two team up, Hunk, you and Lance team up as well. “

This went on for several minutes until everyone had their own little buddies. Lance looked over to Hunk before approaching him, he was a bit disappointed he was not paired up with Allura but he figured he needed at least one other person to talk to besides tall, dark, and emo,” Hey Hunk!! Looks like we’ll be working together! Any ideas as to who will..”

“If you don’t mind I would prefer to be the one giving directions. I just don’t think I’ll fit between the wires and you’re smaller…Probably faster…I think it will be beneficial if you were the one on the field.” Hunk explained looking over the wires. He was not confident about this in the slightest and didn’t want to be the reason everyone failed. 

Lance was not too eager to go in there and wrestle with some electrified wires, he felt like fainting just from the thought of it or maybe it was because he skipped dinner and breakfast. He really needed to get something to eat. Lance extended his hand to Hunk proposing a compromise to him,” How about this. You can lead me through it the first time and then the second time I’ll lead you through. Do you agree?”

He had to think about it for a moment, he was hesitant but he felt reassured that Lance trusted him already or so it seemed. He would go out on a limb then. He then reached out and took Lance’s hand giving it a shake,” I can roll with that.”

Ten minutes later everyone was at the starting point with Coran having decided to turn it into a contest. Lance believed that Coran was having too much fun with this little ‘exercise’ right here. Coran said as he held a flag in his hand the older man practically jumping around in excitement,” Okay!! The rules are like this! You cannot touch the wires! If a hair touches them then you’re out!! You cannot disobey your partner! So if I catch you trying to go solo then you’ll be disqualified! This is a team building exercise and so you and your partner have to work as a team in order to get through! Now the winners get extra portions at lunch and five extra points for the class…Which would benefit Lance immensely considering all grades start out at zero so that means right now you’re at the bottom of the class!!”

Laughing he got to the side of the ‘arena’ and held the flag up for a moment before bringing it down shouting,” Good luck!!” 

“Lance we have to win.” Hunk commented as the screen showing where the wires were located and the spaces between them appeared in front of him.

Lance was stretching and getting ready, his heart was racing out of fear and excitement,” Why? Are you behind as well.”

“No. It’s just they’re having food goo for lunch today. Trust me on this, that is an experience in on itself. I mean the way they prepare it is just it suits every diet out there. I don’t even know how they do it. Is it vegan? It is for carnivores? Omnivores? Vampires? Who knows. All we know is it’s a universal and loved food.” Hunk was getting into his little monologue so Lance cleared his throat to remind him that everyone was already starting,” Oh yeah…There’s a wire five steps in front of you. Walk up to it then turn right the wire there is wide enough for you to get through.” 

It was a slow and tentative process, Lance passed several students who had touched the wires and were just laying on the floor blinking up at the ceiling wondering what they did that was so wrong to deserve a training exercise like that. He looked to see Pidge effortlessly going through the wires which he attributed to her small size. Glancing to his left he noticed Shiro having some difficulties with it, he was trying to listen to Keith but it seemed like Keith was not cooperating too well. He could hear Keith through the intercom saying,” If you suck in you can make it through that. It’s the fastest route here Shiro!”

“You told me the wires were not that far apart. I will not fit through it and we will fail. Please, find another route.” Shiro tried to convince Keith but was met with a refusal. Shiro prepared himself for what he knew was going to happen as he moved between the wires sucking in as much as he could but in the end his chest hit one of the wires causing him to get zapped and fall to the ground saying into his mic,” I told you so.”

That just made Lance feel lucky that he did not get Keith to lead him around. He made sure to pay extra close attention to Hunk’s advice, he passed through the wires effortlessly not even feeling the static from the electricity. Soon it was down to him and Pidge. Pidge remained calm and focused her ears flicking under the helmet. She glanced over to Lance before giving a confident fanged grin,” I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that you’re going to lose.”

“If you win that’s only because it’s rude to come before a lady.” Lance shot back a mischievous smile on his face,” Hunk let’s speed this up now.” 

“You got it.” Hunk answered looking through the map inspecting the routes and deciding which ones were better before stating,” Okay, take that path there are no wires but after five steps take a left, crawl for two meters then while remaining down turn left and crawl ten. After that slowly stand up you’ll be in a mess of wires and slowly raise your left leg up and over before bending and slowly passing through. Any sudden movements and you’ll have twenty wires shocking you simultaneously.” 

“Gee. Thanks.” Lance followed Hunk’s advice completely. He trusted him to know where to lead him. Pidge and Lance were side by side going through the wires with Coran telling the class what was going on at the sidelines,” Our young werewolf is as energetic as ever!!! Effortlessly hopping through the wires on the command of her master!!”

“Hey!! That’s uncalled for!!” Pidge snapped from the sidelines her cheeks growing red from embarrassment at being compared to a dog. She nearly stumbled into a wire due to her indignant outburst but managed to catch herself just in time. 

“Then we have Lance here!! He’s slowing down!! Is he the weakest monster here? Perhaps he is a quarter minotaur!! He seems to have the speed of one hahaha!! But he’s still keeping up with Pidge! Look at his chest! It’s fluttering like a thunderbird!! Will he make it to the finish line?! Only time will tell!!” Coran was using the end of the flag as a pretend microphone watching in excitement.

Lance was feeling tired from all the crouching and crawling his legs slightly shook each time he had to crouch. He felt like he was going to fall over, he noticed how Pidge wasn’t in the least bit tired as she continued her trek. He was not going to let her beat him, he summoned up the rest of his strength quickly moving through the electric minefield until he passed the finish line alongside Pidge. 

“First round is a tie between Lance and Pidge!!! This is getting exciting!!” Coran commentated from the sidelines waving the flag around.

Lance walked back to where Hunk was sitting, he felt sore as he took the seat giving a weary thumbs up,” Good luck out there bud. That was a ride.” 

Lance was thinking back to Coran’s commentating. Why did everyone compare people to monsters? Why was Pidge called a werewolf? He was not wanting to approach the idea of perhaps Keith wasn’t lying because his whole world would be upside down then. He grew up with those monsters being nothing more than myths. There was no way they could be real. His hands lightly shook as he started to really study everyone. The tentacled woman, the oozing blob man…Those were too good to be costumes now that he realized it.   
“Lance…Laaannnceee. Are you going to tell me where to go?” Hunk got Lance’s attention a bit concerned for the now pale man,” Are you alright man?”

“Y-yeah. Let’s do this!! Okay Hunk. The map is the same from mine…But you want to go the opposite way I did. The wires are further apart.” He was trying to sound natural,but how could he? He was starting to suspect that Keith was honest with everything. But it’s only been a day right? Surely this could all be a prank on a newcomer. Yeah. He’ll just go with that. It’s all a prank and if he pretends everything is normal then they’ll stop it. 

“Now it’s Hunk’s turn!! He’s really moving through the wires and nothing is touching!! It’s amazing!! He’s overtaken Allura and Keith!! I never thought I would see the day when Hunk actually participates in these exercises!! Good show!! Good show!!” Coran encouraged Hunk to continue through the maze. 

Halfway through Hunk’s legs gave out but miraculously he did not touch any of the wires. He was not used to these exercises, he would always sit out and study extra hard for the written tests. He never thought he could do it and to him this was proving it,” I really couldn’t do it afterall..I’m too big and clumsy for anything like this. What was I thinking I should just give up..”

Hunk reached out where he knew a wire would be and was about to touch it to give up until Lance said,” Don’t you dare give up on me. You’re close to the exit. You can do this, so far you’ve been dominating the field man! No one is even close to you! You being so clumsy has kept you from falling into the wires and being big hasn’t slowed you down! Just get up! Get up and turn right. You don’t see it but In five steps you’ll be out and we’ll win!! Trust me on this one.” 

The big man thought about it his hand still extended to receive that shock that would disqualify him, but Lance’s words gave him newfound strength and so he retracted his hand and stood up. He was going to do this. Hunk turned right and took those last five steps across the finish line,” Team Lance and Hunk has won!!”

“Wait…I did it?...I did it!!! Oh yeah!!” Hunk shouted and celebrated. The wires revealed themselves letting everyone else navigate to safety now that it was over. Hunk rushed over to Lance with excitement in his eyes,” Oh man. You did it!! We won!!!” 

For a moment Lance had a sense of belonging as everyone congratulated him even Keith gave a half hearted congratulations which of course Lance was smug over. His first class and he already made a good grade on something he didn’t know much about. He was just a natural or at least that’s what he would say if asked. 

The next class was so boring that Lance wasn’t even sure if he was awake during it at all. Perhaps it was a lecture? He couldn’t be sure but now it was time for lunch. He could hear his stomach screaming at him for food and he was all too happy to oblige. He stood in line grabbing a tray and receiving the same green goo as everyone else. He didn’t know where to sit in the crowded cafeteria, Keith was sitting beside Shiro who had Pidge and Hunk near him as well. 

Lance noticed there was no room for him and so he found an empty table and sat down at it. He moved the food around on his tray feeling homesick again. This was his first time having to eat lunch alone..He raised a spoonful of the goo to his lips and was about to eat it when he heard Keith,” Do you mind if I sit here? The table was too crowded.” 

He looked up to see Keith. The windows to the cafeteria were blocked out and the room only had dim lights but he could still make out Keith. He thought about saying no for a moment but he did not want to eat alone,” Be my guess. Just don’t get in my elbow room.” 

“Noted.” Keith remarked sitting down in front of Lance. He slowly began to eat before noticing the face Lance made when he tried the goo. Lance reached for the salt on the table but Keith shook his head,” I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It makes it worse.” 

“Oh yeah? I don’t trust you on that.” Lance began to sprinkle salt on the goo before taking a big mouthful. Immediately his face twisted in the most disgusted expression imaginable before he faked a more pleasant one saying as he continued to eat it,” Mhhmmm….Delicious….”

It was horrible. Keith was right on that but he was not about to let the man know just how correct he was. Keith sighed taking Lance’s tray and walking away as Lance shouted,” Hey!! Get your own food goo!!” 

A moment later Keith returned with a fresh plate putting it in front of Lance stating,” Those facial expressions were making me lose my appetite. Here.” 

Meanwhile Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro were watching what was unfolding before Shiro gave a fond smile stating to the other two,” It looks like Keith has made a new friend.”


	5. The Truth is Known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something greater is going on in the school, Lance is figuring out that everything is not all that it seems and Keith is left trying to keep Lance from getting himself killed.

Lance ate the strange food goo looking over to Keith who seemed to be having a difficult time. He was not one to really notice someone but the way Keith was eating the food seemed to Lance dramatically forced. He watched the way Keith swallowed. How he forced the food down, how his eyes would dart to him every few moments before tearing them away. Like he was experiencing some internal war, it was starting to freak Lance out. Keith looked hungry as if what they were eating was not fully satisfying him. 

“What. You keep staring.” Keith interrupted Lance’s thoughts with his own knife like words. He was looking at Lance from the corner of his eye, the look made Lance scoot away from him a little. 

“You’re crazy. You’re the one looking at me!! It’s creepy. Just stare at the goo or something. Just not at me. It feels like you want to eat me instead and that’s just weird.” Lance muttered poking at the food, the food wasn’t THAT bad. Sure they needed to learn to throw some seasonings in it, probably serve it with a side of garlic knots to make it even more appealing but Keith was being too dramatic. 

Lance could feel the tension rising, Keith’s hand tightening on the spoon. He was getting concerned before another voice got his attention,” Hey Keith. You okay?”

All the aggression left the black haired man when someone else approached. He looked to see that it was Shiro with Pidge and Hunk in tow. Keith mumbled as he tried to shake what just happened off,” Yes. I’m fine Shiro.”

“Well, that’s good. You seemed to be close to another freak out. There’s a reason why Merfolk are no longer accepted into the academy. It was a shame I really thought they were interesting. Being half human though had its problems.” Lance looked to see fuzzy ears and a small fang poking out from a lip as Pidge adjusted her glasses. She sat down beside Lance not even asking if she could before looking over to Lance, her nose twitched for a moment and her brown eyes looked into Lance’s dark blue ones before she started to focus on her lunch.

“Oh I remember that incident. It wasn’t very pretty. Keith man you have some issues that we all need to work on. That reminds me has anyone seen Shay? I didn’t see her in class today and she’s been gone awhile.” Hunk’s tray was piled high with food as he started to dig in. He enjoyed the extra helping that he got thanks to winning Coran’s little ‘game’ but he did not want to do that again anytime soon. 

Shiro was seated next to Keith looking at Hunk and thinking. Lance meanwhile felt a little cramped as he tried to eat only to elbow Pidge who gave a soft growl. The growl sounded so wolf like Lance jumped and sat straight so that he would not nudge her anymore. Shiro sighed,” Pidge behave. Hunk, now that you mention it I don’t remember seeing her around ever since class went out for the holidays.”

“Cinco de mayo. Ah, that was great well except if you were the Gargoyles. They were just mad given that the coco and the coca kept rubbing in that it was their holiday to the Gargoyles. That was an intense week and we got to learn so much about them. It wasn’t computer science but it was so interesting to see that human battles and disagreements can transfer over to the supernatural realm as well.” Pidge excitedly rambled on for a minute while Lance gave her a confused look. The way she talked she was acting like everything was real which started to make him feel uncomfortable once again.

Lance couldn’t keep it in any longer, he put his spoon down and shifted around in his seat trying to come up with the words before he just blurted out,” What are you talking about? You’re acting as if supernatural creatures like werewolves, zombies, kyonshi, vampires…Like they all exist and mmhphh!!!!”

Keith had placed his hand over Lance’s mouth as soon as he started his outburst. Everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them. The headmaster Alfor was sitting at the grand table at the front with his daughter beside him and the teachers seated at that same table. They were all looking at Lance. Every monster imaginable had their attention captured. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro were looking at Lance in a mixture of shock and surprise. Keith said to them trying to get their attention off of Lance,” What my ‘friend’ here means is we’re all equals…We do not need to go by vampire. Werewolf…Or zombie. We are all beings on the same earth. Hahaha. Yeah, he’s one of those monsters. He’s a bit too open in that regard.” 

Everyone gave a disgusted sound at that explanation, but Keith was relieved when they bought into it. He could feel their resentment and disappointment towards Lance for that ‘mindset’ but what else was he supposed to do? Keith could only think of that knowing that there was a chance that Lance could have been seriously injured if he allowed Lance to blow his own cover. He slowly let go of Lance the seething glare he gave him was enough for Lance to know not to say another word. 

“Anyway. Back to Shay. I haven’t seen her either….Actually, I haven’t seen any of the Golems. It’s like they all disappeared.” Keith noted, he gave Lance another look when it seemed like he was about to say something once again. Lance moved down in his seat averting all eye contact and keeping his lips sealed. 

Before anyone could say another word the building began to shake. The teachers looked at each other in confusion before Coran ran into the hall, he appeared out of breath as he leaned down and began to whisper in Alfor’s ear. Pidge’s furry ears twitched and her eyes narrowed as she watched them. Alfor’s expression turned from a joyous one to something more odious, he rose from the table giving a small smile to Allura reassuring her that everything was alright before he followed Coran out of the hall. The teachers looked at each other. Lance wondered what was going on when they left as well leaving Allura alone and confused at the table. 

“It’s beginning.” Pidge whispered looking at the table, Lance knew that trait. His brother would always look at the table when he whispered never wanting to give away just what he was saying. Afraid that someone would read his lips or him looking at what or who he was talking about would expose him as well.

“What’s happening Pidge.” Shiro asked. The concern in his voice was unrestrained. Lance was confused, he did not know what was going on or what they were all talking about. All he knew was something weird was happening and the place he was in was weird.

“Everything that we know, the world that we know it…It’s about to change.” Pidge looked up at them. The seriousness in her eyes sent chills down Lance’s spine,” Wh-what do you mean?”

Pidge looked over to Lance when he asked that question before looking back down,” I’ve been noticing a lot of these tremors but it’s only affecting the building…But what Coran told Alfor confirmed my suspicions. There’s going to be an event that we would normally only read in fairytales. A break out so catastrophic the fate of the whole universe will be on the line.”

“A break out? What exactly is breaking out.” What did he get into? How did he get into this? He would normally doubt any story that ridiculous but the conviction in her voice. The fear in it too. He had no reason NOT to believe.

“Not what…Who. Coran was mentioning the name Zarkon…And mentioning Voltron. The former co-headmaster didn’t die like what is in the books. He’s been here the whole time imprisoned under the building and he’s about to break out.” Pidge looked everyone in the eye, the conversation going from wondering about Shay, from Keith protecting Lance from his own impulsive talking, to this. 

The news was not being received well by Lance as he slowly stood up from the table. He didn’t hear the words of concern from Shiro, Hunk, or Keith as he ran out of the cafeteria. His heart was racing as he rushed through the building. No. No. This could not be happening. This could not be true!! Everything he’s witnessed. All of these creatures that he thought were just well put together costumes. They were REAL. This was real, he couldn’t breathe. The walls felt like they were closing around him, like he was being trapped and suffocated. 

This shouldn’t be happening. He should be at a normal school not here. He loved it at first. He thought it was quirky and weird just something he would like. No. He was somewhere he didn’t belong. He knew he had no place there. He was a HUMAN. He was supposed to be doing human things! He reached his room and with trembling hands he used his card to get in. He turned the lamp on and immediately began to pack. He did not know how he would leave or where he would go at this point. Home was out of the question, he couldn’t explain why their son who was off to do ‘great’ things returned in a panic. Maybe he’ll join a band and just travel. He could sing and just live life like a dashing singing rogue. 

“You can’t leave.” Keith’s voice filled the room causing Lance to stop what he was doing. He felt like someone poured ice water over him. Keith was a real vampire…But wait..

” HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!” Lance turned to face Keith he held his suitcase up like a shield looking at Keith from behind it.

“I’m a vampire. I can teleport not very far but still quicker than you can run and I knew you would come here. Just hear me out okay.” Keith held his hands up to express that he was not going to hurt Lance.

Lance slowly lowered his suitcase giving Keith the benefit of the doubt. He was scared. He would not lie if called out. Okay, maybe he would,” Go ahead.”

Keith slowly lowered his hands, he needed to get across to Lance just how important this was. Just how much danger he was in,” Lance. You’re annoying and loud, a bit clumsy and…”

“That’s not helping! Just get on with it!” 

“Fine. The point is. I don’t want to see you die. That’s what will happen if you leave right now. They will realize you’re human and they will go after you. The institute does not condone it but you can’t control thousands of creatures who will do anything and I mean anything to keep their secret safe.” Keith knew all too well what they would do once they realized Lance was human. It was not too different from what had been done before.

The situation was inescapable as well. So the school had some prisoner about to break loose and now if he was to be smart and run off then he would be killed regardless. He didn’t know what to do in this situation. He slowly sat down on his bed putting his chin in his hand asking in a soft voice,” Then what do I do? I’m just a guy from Cuba. I thought I was just going to get some regular degree and go on to a boring job in some lackluster field…”

Keith approached Lance putting his hands on Lance’s shoulder making the man look at him,” Stay. Pretend to be just like everyone else and I’ll help keep your identity safe. The school year ends you go back to your human life and never return. No one will know and no one will go after you. But you have to trust me.”

Was it his only way to survive? He could not be sure but given the current events he could not be too careful. He looked at Keith giving a small nod,” Alright. I’ll trust you.”


End file.
